Out & About: Top Three Salzburg Sound of Music Sites

June 4, 2017

So you may have heard tell of our recent Salzburg trip, which was amazing. We’d been building up to this family trip for ages so I couldn’t want to get a visiting! I was excited about this trip for many reasons – time with the family, four days off of work, exploring a new city, going to Austria for the very first time. the list goes on! But the main reason I was so excited about visiting Salzburg is that I’m the world’s biggest Sound of Music fan. I must have watched it a hundred or so times and always pop it on if I’m feeling ill. It’s the ultimate in comfort watching. So to visit the many Salzburg Sound of Music sites was definitely a bucket list moment.

However, the rest of the family were not so keen. They’re not big fans of The Sound of Music, in fact I don’t think Becca, my youngest sister, has even watched it. Craziness. So early on in our Salzburg planning they put their (collective) foot down and so no to an organised Sound of Music tour. I was devastated. Gone where my visions of us singing together on a bus tour and posing for photos at all the film spots.

Eventually I picked myself off the floor and started to look at what else we could visit in Salzburg if we weren’t going to do a Sound of Music themed tour. You can imagine how surprised I was to discover that there’s a lot of stuff you can visit from the film without going on an organised tour; as the city itself was the film set for much of my beloved film. Phew. Who knew? Not me that’s for sure. So if you’re a Sound of Music fan and you’re visiting Salzburg with heathens that don’t want to go on the organised tours then read on as I share my top Salzburg Sound of Music sites!

Top Salzburg Sound of Music sites

The Mirabell Palace and Gardens

The Mirabell Gardens are right in the heart of the city along the river, so you don’t have to go out of your way to visit the best stop on my Salzburg Sound of Music sites list! To me this is the location out of all on this list that’s the most recognisable from the film. They filmed the ‘Do-Ri-Me’ scene in the park and there are so many spots that still look exactly the same! One of the main things in the Mirabell Gardens is the beautiful Pegasus fountain, which the children run around during the song. You’ll definitely want to stop and pose here.

From there you’ll spot the hedge tunnel that the kids run through, before stumbling into the Dwarf Garden. This is where (unsurprisingly) loads of dwarf statues reside, which the Von Trapps pat during the song. Although I guarantee it’ll take you a while to work out which one they patted! But perhaps the most famous of all the spots in the gardens are the steps in front of the Rose Hill. These are the steps the children jump up and down toward the end of the song. You’ll definitely recognise it and need to stop for a picture or three at this point!

Schloss Hellbrunn

Next on my Salzburg Sound of Music sites list is the most stunning yellow castle, Schloss Hellbrunn. It’s only about fifteen minutes out of the city by bus and is the site of the brilliant trick fountains. So really easy to get to and somewhere you’ll want to visit anyway. Schloss Hellbrunn itself doesn’t actually make an appearance in the film, so you won’t recognise it. But the pavilion that Liesl and Rolf dance around when Liesl is singing ‘I am 16 going on 17’ has since been moved into the castle’s grounds. And it’s free to wander around the gardens – even better!

Residenzplatz Square

This square is in the heart of Salzburg and just a stone’s throw from the tourist information and Salzburg’s Cathedral. So you’ll probably wander into it without really realising it! The Square is seen when they’re singing in the carriage as it passes the fountain. Plus, at the very start of the film, Maria splashes water from the fountain as she’s leaving the Abbey for the Von Trapp family home.

So there we go, my top three Salzburg Sound of Music sites. I hope it’s useful if you’re travelling with people who don’t want to do the tour either!